Automatic rating of watches, clocks, and any other kind of timepiece



y 1934- w. KAUFMANN- 1,958,825

AUTOIATIC RATINGH' WATCHES, CLOCKS AND ANY OTHER KIND OF TIHEPIECE 7 Filed Oct. 20,

F Z W Patented May 15, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC RATING OF WATCHES, CLOCKS, AND ANY OTHER KIND OF TIMEPIECE Wilhelm Kaufmann, Geneva, Switzerland 1 Claim.

The present invention has for object a device for the automatic rating of watches, clocks and any other kind of timepiece.

This device is characterized by a lever capable of acting by its own displacement, on the one hand, on a member forming part of the minute hand and by the intermediary of which it brings the said minute hand into a well-defined position for setting the hour, if the minute hand is not at a distance, in relation to said position,

, of the movable pinion or pinions is terminated before the setting of the hour takes place.

The figure of the drawing represents one form of execution, given by way of example, of a device according to the invention placed in a movement which is seen here from the rear.

The different wheels of the movement have been omitted in order to simplify the drawing, only those parts have been represented which are of direct interest in this particular invention.

In 1 is found the axle of the minute hand and in 2 the cock of the balance, the hairspring 3 of which is seen fixed to the stud 4.

On the axle 1 of the minute hand are fixed a dented wheel 5 and a cam 6 for setting the hour.

A movable pinion '7, the pivoting axle of which is mounted on a lever 8 oscillating around a screw 9, can at certain moments place the rating member 10, also provided with teeth, in an interlocking position with the dented wheel 5. A spring 11 tends to bring back the movable pinion into the position where it does not interlock with the wheel 5 of the member 10.

A lever 12, pivoting around a screw 13 and capable of being set in motion by any sort of push-piece in the direction of the arrow 14, serves both to move the cam 6 for setting the hour and also the movable pinion 7. A spring 15 bears upon the lever 12 to counteract the action which the push-piece may exercise.

The device operates as follows:--

In pressing upon the push-piece, thelever 12 is brought into the position illustrated by broken lines, which action has for effect to bring the lever 8 also into the position marked in broken lines, in which the movable pinion 7 links the dented wheel 5 to the member 10. This movement is produced by the action one upon the other of the slanting surface 16 of the lever 8 and the slanting surface 17 of a nose 18 of the lever 12. These two slanting surfaces extend as far as is necessary for the movable pinion to interlock correctly with the dents of the wheel 5 of the member 10. In continuing the rotation of the lever 12, the surfaces 19 and 20 of the levers 8 and 12 are brought into contact, which surfaces are formed in such a way as to no longer produce a displacement of the lever 8 when the displacement of the lever 12 continues, but to maintain the movable pinion 7 in contact with the said member.

In continuing its oscillating movement, the lever 12 will touch the cam 6 at least by one of the angles 21 or 22 of a curved. surface 23, the radius of which will be preferably slightly superior to the part 24 of the cam concentric with the axle l.

The said cam carries besides this concentric part, a part 25 in the form of an arc of a circle and an inclined plane 26.

If the angle 2-2 of the lever encounters the in- 80 clined plane 26, it will cause the cam to oscillate in the opposite direction to that of the hands in the watch in question, that is to say in the direction towards slow.

If, on the other hand, the angle 22 encounters the angle 27 of the cam and the curve 25 is formed in such a way that it will be touched at the same time by the angle 21 of the lever 12, no movement of the cam will take place.

If, finally, the angle 21 encounters the curve 25 towards its left extremity, it will cause the cam to turn in the direction of the hands in the watch in question, that is to say in the direction towards fast, until the angle 22 of the lever 12 will be placed in the angle 27 of the cam.

In making correspond the relative position of the minute hand and the cam at the moment when the angles 22 and 2'? coincide at a precise hour, that is to say, a well-defined position for 100 setting the hour with the minute hand, and that this setting of the hour takes place when the master-clock marks the hour in question, it is seen that in the case of a watch being slow or fast, the play of the lever 12 and the cam 6 05 will put the hand back again to time. It is evi dent that this setting of the hour can only be eflected if the minute hand is at such distance from the hour of timing as to not form an angle superior to that which permits either the angle 1 22 to act upon the inclined plane, or the angle 21 to act upon the surface 25. In other words, the setting of the hour can only be effected if the fast and slow do not exceed a given value, for example, five minutes. On the other hand, the setting of the hour can be effected at any time, since at every hour the earn 6 is found in the same position, if the time by which the watch is fast or slow is not taken into account.

But at the same time as the correction of the fast or slow causes the cam 6 to turn, it also causes the dented wheel 5 to turn and, by the intermediary of the movable pinion '7 which previously gears with the member 10 which, because of this fact rotates in its turn and displaces the pins 28, that is to say, modifies the timing. The modification of the timing must naturally tend to adjust the deficiency in the timing of the watch and by the coupling between the organ of timing and therninute hand that is set to time, this modification will be in proportion to this deficiency.

In releasing the push-piece, which thus acts upon the lever 12, the operation of timing is interrupted, which operation can be repeated an hour, two hours x hours later.

It is evident that in place of one movable pinion, there can be several on the same lever.

It is also evident that the cam 6 can be turned round in such a way as to present the inclined plane 26 opposite to the angle 21 and the curve 25 opposite to the angle 22.

What I claim is:

A device for setting and regulating timepieces comprising a time shaft, a movable member spaced from said time shaft, means coacting with said member for adjusting said time shaft, time regulating means, a gear pinion carried by said time regulating means, a gear pinion carried by said time shaft, a pivoted lever, a pinion carried by said pivoted lever, and means upon said movable member for pivoting said pivoted lever so as to connect said pinions and then hold said pinions in connection during the time of operation of the time shaft adjusting means.

WILHELM KAUFMANN. 

